The Stats on Women & Hollywood

Women comprise only 23% of film critics at daily newspapers. (San Diego State)

In 2007, women only comprised 15% of all directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on the top 250 grossing films. (San Diego State)

In 2007, only 6% of the top 250 grossing films were directed by women. (San Diego State)

In 2007, only 5 of the top 50 films starred or were focused on women.

Of the 6,833 single speaking characters in the film nominated for best picture from 1977-2006 only 27.3% were females. (USC)

Women make up 27% of TV writers and 19% of film writers (WGAW)

In 2006, less than a dozen of the 307 films eligible for an Oscar were women driven (EW).

In 2006, only 3 movies in the top 50 starred or were focused on women. (EW)

Why focus on Women & Hollywood?

Ever notice that most of the films in mainstream Hollywood are by and about boys? Women & Hollywood does and is tired of it. Women & Hollywood will focus on bringing attention to the films, TV shows, theatre and other entertainment that highlights women and our contribution to the culture.

This blog will focus on what's going on for women in Hollywood: what movies are being made; what directors are getting jobs; what projects actors are working; and will call attention to the continuous disparity that dominates Hollywood.

Hollywood

April 29, 2008

Dr. Martha Lauzen is my idol. She is the woman who has been tracking women's representation behind the scenes in the TV and film business for over a decade. Her studies, The Celluloid Ceiling and Boxed In, are the studies used by everybody who tracks issues related to women working in the business. She runs the newly created Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University

She recently appeared on a Movies by Women podcast (click on episode 14, but check out all the other great podcasts they have) to discuss issues related to women working in Hollywood, especially women directors. I highly recommend listening to the podcast but here are some highlighted quotes:

Most women (across the country) don't understand the under-representation of women in the business.

There has been a multi-year decline in women directors (working in films).

90% of what we see is a white male view of the world. We are so used to it that we don't even see it.

People in Hollywood don't want to be called racist, but they don't mind being called sexist.

When women have power to hire, they do hire more women.

This notion that women won't or can't get along or don't hire women is not true. It's a myth which has political undertones that we see across all media. As long as women believe they can't trust each other, it's damaging to women as a group.

We need to get the word out that women are under-represented and that this is a cultural problem.

The privilege of denial is when people in positions of power encounter a point of view that does not jibe with their own and they say it does not exist.

So what can we learn from this? Being a sexist is a badge of honor in Hollywood, and denying that there is a problem is an effective tool being used to keep women out of positions of power. There has got to be one male executive whose daughter wants to be a director. I wonder what he would do if his daughter was denied a job just because she's a woman. There needs to be some kind of affirmative action committee to deal with this. It's such BS.